Cusumano’s Pizza

This place reminds me of a bar I used to go to in grad school. It’s divey and a little worn down, but I like it a lot. The drinks are cheap, and the crowd has a lot of personality. Nights that end in Cusumano’s have always been good nights for me.

A-​OK. Definitely wish they had a DJ. As a DJ myself, I like to hear a good progression of music mixed properly that you don’t hear everywhere else & on the radio. Sound system could use a facelift /​upgrade. However, most people aren’t as selective /​particular about the entertainment and equipment at bars & clubs, so this may not bother a majority of Unilocalers.
Bartenders were attentive, although if it’s busy, you may have to wait a few minutes for a drink. Also, be aware it’s a smoking bar, so as a nonsmoker, I’d prefer if it were not. This may or may not bother some, but just be aware.
I didn’t order any food, so I’m unable to review on that aspect. Overall, 3 stars (A-​OK on Unilocal rating scale)

Wow, this place has really gone down. Three o’ clock bar in Maplewood which used to be an oasis for industry people. They have to be losing money because the male bartender there has a severe case of halitosis (dragon breath). He frowned the entire time, was constantly on his phone, and very lethargic. He didn’t have to wave us out the door because his toxic breath chased us out of there when we wanted to spend money… not a good time and I think speaking collectively… zero stars if Unilocal would allow. 2 stars for the pizza. meh.

The bartenders are so nice! They have specials almost every night of the week, except for the weekends. It would be nice if they had drink specials on the weekends, because that is the only time I can go out. They have $ 5 pizza which is yummy after you’ve had a few drinks in you. Upstairs, there are two pool tables, which always has a waiting line. More often than not, you find yourself just sitting at the bar. It would be nice if they had more bar games. It is a classic dive bar that is open until 3am. It is a great place to start the night or end the night.

Cusumano’s saddens me. It has SO much potential to be a great bar/​restaurant/​club. However, it’s downfall is that the owners don’t know what it should be. The pizza is decent (for St. Louis style pizza) but then they have to mess that up with a really irritating «2 for 1» offer at the bar, where they just divide up my rum and coke into two glasses and charge me $ 4. That particular drink was very watered down and it made me question the professionalism of the bartender. It’s hard to mess up a simple mixed drink, but when you do, it makes huge waves.
I was invited by some old friends to visit this establishment for a «hip hop» show, which I later found out that the group paid the establishment to perform. I know that happens in a lot of other cities, but that shouldn’t happen in St. Louis, where there are plenty of bars hungry for live entertainment. The bar should be paying the band.
The show itself was a terrible production, with the group’s banner scrawled on some old bed sheets. The rappers and their amps were stuck in a corner, which made the acoustics terrible. In terms of lyrics: they stunk.
I accidentally bumped into one of their bouncers, and he kind of pushed me out of the way. I mean, this wasn’t even a drunken bump, just my own clumsiness. An apology wasn’t even taken when I gave it to him; he just wanted to act like a stereotypical bouncer… Sad. This place needs a lot of work.
The décor is run-​down. The drinks are watered-​down. The entire place gets me down. I’m not going back here again unless I’m dragged, kicking and screaming.
So much potential…